Emily and Ethan FitzpatrickMartin
by Soccer Freak 101
Summary: One crazy night, Maddie got pregnant with twins. Twelve years later, her twins are wondering who their father is. Are they willing to do what it takes to have a father again?
1. Telling People

**Hello, readers of my fanfiction! I hope you enjoy this! I have no idea how I came up with this but I know one thing: I hope you love it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Suite Life of Zack and Cody, although I will own some people that will come in.**

Maddie cried into her pillow. She knew her parents wouldn't approve. And she couldn't explain something like this to them.

So she continued crying.

Why did Zack have to be so cute? So hot? Such a good kisser? It had started when he was twelve, and now look what it had done!

It left Maddie pregnant.

She wasn't fat yet, for she had just found out a week ago. But the thought scared her. Would her family disown her? What would her friends say? Would they keep with her?

Would she be forced to marry Zack?

No, she wouldn't let that happen. But she needed to tell someone who cared about her. London forgot who she was every day, so it wasn't her. Mr. Moseby only paid her, so it wasn't going to be him. Mary-Margaret was her friend but she didn't trust her and her other friend – well, she was way too obsessed with London.

But Cody was always there to listen. And most of the time he didn't make assumptions. Maybe it would be him. And it would be him. At nineteen years old, he had matured a lot.

But first, Maddie had to face other troubles. Troubles of telling her family. Her older sister, Maria, would be proud of her; she knew that, after Maria having three kids. Maybe there was a chance her parents would accept it too.

"What!"

"How could you?"

"Why did you do this?"

"Oh my gosh!"

"Who's the father?"

"Stop it!" Maddie yelled out, stopping her parents from speaking. "Let me speak for a second. Maria has three kids, and each time she told you she was pregnant, you accepted."

"But you're not even married yet!" Mrs. Fitzpatrick said.

"Maria had her first baby at twenty-two, the exact age I'm at. And she wasn't married when she had little Lisa."

"But she got married afterwards!" Mr. Fitzpatrick said.

"What's all this talk about marriage?" Liam asked as he came into the room. He was still a booger but matured a tiny bit.

"I'm having a baby," Maddie blurted out. Liam started laughing.

"You're already too fat to be pregnant!" Liam said.

"Why you little –" Maddie started towards him but Mrs. Fitzpatrick held her back.

"It's not good for pregnant women to violently chase after their little brothers, Madeline." She said.

"You always favor him," Maddie said.

"You bet she does!" Liam said. Maddie took a step towards him and he ran out of the room in fright.

"Maddie, what are we going to do? How are we going to afford this?" Mr. Fitzpatrick asked.

"I'll work double-shift at the Tipton until it's time." Maddie said.

"No, you should get a new job, an easier job," Mrs. Fitzpatrick said.

"Fine. But only when I start to get fat."

Maddie returned to working at the Tipton. She had forgotten that she had wanted to talk with Cody, so she hadn't. But her excuse for working the double-shifts at the Tipton was that her brother needed braces again and her parents didn't have enough money to supply for it.

Just about everyone believed it.

Soon, Maddie started having morning sickness. It wasn't very helpful. And then her baby started getting hungry and she started craving more fruits and some sour things. Zack didn't notice the difference, but Cody did.

"Maddie, are you okay?" Cody asked one day as Maddie was stuffing herself with food from home.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Maddie said. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you've been eating a lot more lately," Cody said. Maddie sighed.

"Look, Cody, I didn't want anyone else to know, but I'm having a baby." Maddie practically whispered.

"What? You're not even married!" Cody made a huge commotion.

"Shut up!" Maddie said.

"Well, who's the father?" Cody asked. Maddie hesitated before saying it.

"Zack." Maddie whispered.

"Whoa, you did you-know-what with my brother!" Cody exclaimed.

"Shut up!" Maddie said. "And yes, but don't tell him."

"We're twins, I tell Zack everything." Cody argued.

"Just this one, please don't tell him." Maddie begged.

"Okay," Cody said.

"As long as you live?"

"As long as I live."

"Do you promise?"

"I promise."

"Pinky swear!"

"Pinky swear."

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go to the bathroom." And with that Maddie left.


	2. Do we have a Dad?

Twelve years came and went. Emily and Ethan had progressed very well. Emily was a sports fanatic and planned to get a Soccer Scholarship to a good college. Ethan worked very hard on academics. He planned to go to Harvard.

The both of them had a part time job, the only place that would allow them to work. It was an old fifty's diner. Emily wore roller skates as she skated around serving people and Ethan did the same, except his weren't pink. His were red.

Both twins had inherited blonde hair. Ethan had hazel eyes and Emily had brown eyes. Emily's hair was usually braided unless Maddie begged her to wear it down. Ethan's hair was pretty long, just as long as he wanted it to be. Just as long as Zack's hair was when he was thirteen. In fact, if anyone had ever seen Ethan, they might think they were seeing a flashback of Zack.

Although Maddie never admit it, she missed Zack. And she trusted that Cody hadn't told him. But she also trusted that Zack was most likely dating a beautiful girl that was his age. Maddie wished she could see Zack again. But she was scared of what he might think.

Emily and Ethan came back from work one day and Ethan immediately started his homework. Emily immediately went to the room they shared and started working on her juggling skills for soccer. She played for her school soccer team.

Maddie was reading in the living room. She looked at Ethan, who was concentrating so hard on homework. She closed her book and moved close to him.

"So, what are you learning?" Maddie asked.

"The Pythagorean Theorem." Ethan answered.

"Really? Is it easy?" Maddie asked.

"Weren't you in the seventh grade once, Mom?" Ethan asked.

"When I was really young. But that is history." Maddie said. Ethan laughed. "Here, why don't you hold off on the homework for a bit and go bike-riding with Emily?"

"How am I supposed to get into Harvard if I slack off?" Ethan asked.

"Trust me, they don't start looking until high school," Maddie said. "Emily!"

"What, Mom?" Emily asked, catching the ball and walking out of her room.

"How about you and Ethan go for a bike-ride?" Maddie suggested.

"I can't, I need to work on my juggling." Emily said.

"Why don't you work on it later?"

"How am I supposed to get a sports scholarship if I slack off?" Emily asked, wiping a tear of sweat from her face with the back of her hand.

"You'll have time to work on it later," Maddie said. She took out their bikes. "And don't forget to wear your helmets."

"Do I ever not wear a helmet?" Emily asked. Ethan put his pencil down and put his helmet on. Emily put her helmet on also and they both climbed onto their own bikes.

"Bye, Mom!" they both yelled as they walked out the front door of their apartment with their bikes.

Once out of the apartment building, they mounted their bikes.

"Race you!" Emily said. She started pedaling as fast as she could towards the end of the parking lot, Ethan right behind her.

At the end of the parking lot, a man was walking alone and Emily almost crashed into him. But, luckily, she stopped her bike just in time.

"Sorry, sir." She said politely. She got off of her bike and looked up at him. He looked strangely familiar. He had blonde hair just like she and Ethan did and hazel eyes just like Ethan did. Soon, Ethan pedaled up.

"Emily, why'd you get off?" he asked. Then, he looked up at the man.

"It's okay, but just don't try that again," the man said. "I've actually run into people when I was your age. You guys are twelve, right?"

"Yeah," Emily and Ethan said.

"Don't make the same mistake I did," the man said and then he walked off. Ethan and Emily stared after him until he was out of view.

"That man looks familiar," Emily said, "as if I've seen him before."

"But you haven't, Em," Ethan said, unsure. "It-it's fine."

Emily shrugged it off and started biking towards the park, Ethan right behind her.

"But, haven't you ever wondered, Ethan?" Emily asked.

"Wondered what?" Ethan asked.

"Who our father was."

"Sometimes. But then I shake the thought from my head, realizing how lucky we are to have Mom."

"But why didn't Mom ever tell us?"

"Only Mom can answer that."

Emily stopped pedaling and stopped the bike so abruptly that Ethan had to turn around after he stopped his bike.

"Then how about we ask her?" Emily suggested.

"Em, we both know she wouldn't answer." Ethan said.

"We've never asked her. And we're twelve. I think it's about time to know who our father is."

"Just in case, maybe we should search the apartment for some pictures. Then show them to Mom, asking who they are."

Emily nodded. They both started up their bikes again and rode to the park. At the playground, they laid their bikes down gently and headed towards the swings. They gently swung, not going all the way up, but just using their feet to rock them back and forth. They started talking.

"That man looked like you, Ethe," Emily said. "He had your eye color and your hair."

"You have the same hair as I except longer." Ethan said.

"But…what if that man is our father?" Emily asked.

"I don't know, for all we know, our father could have died before we were even born. Or while we were babies. We might have had a father once."

"But what if we never had a father at all?"

Ethan started thinking. They both heard a giggle and turned toward the child who suppressed it. His father was standing over him, smiling. The child ran away, laughing, and the father ran after him, jogging slowly, laughing also.

"I wish we had a dad." Emily and Ethan said in unison. They both looked at each other and sighed.

"Maybe we do have a dad," Emily said.

"And he could help me with my homework." Ethan said.

"And with my soccer skills."

"And with my girl skills."

"You don't have any girl skills."

"But he could teach me some!"

On the way home, they rode past a phone booth. Emily and Ethan stopped, looking at the Yellow Pages book below it.

"Fitzpatrick-Martin…" Emily muttered. "We know our dad's last name was Martin!"

"Let's search the book!" Ethan said.

They went up to the phone booth and started searching the yellow pages. Once they got to the M's, their mouths dropped.

"Wow." They both said together.

There were over thirty people in Boston with the last name Martin.

"Let's just ask Mom," Emily suggested.

"Yeah," Ethan agreed.


	3. Zack Learns

**Sorry it took a long time to update! I just write other fanfics and stuff, so yeah. Please review! I love all my reviewers!**

"MOM!" chorused the twins. Maddie ran into the room.

"What? What is it?" she asked in a panicked tone.

"We wanted to talk to you," Emily said.

"But…didn't you guys already see the movie and –" Maddie was cut off.

"Not that talk," Ethan said.

"We wanna talk to you about…our father." Emily said.

Maddie blanked out. "Your father?" she repeated. Emily and Ethan nodded. She sighed. "What about your father?"

"Who is he?" Ethan asked.

Maddie sighed again and left. She came back with a box in her hands.

"I made this box while I was in preschool and then I painted it," Maddie explained. "I keep important things in this." She opened the box and pulled out a picture of her from her teen years at age sixteen. There were two boys on each side of her. "Your father was a twin also," Maddie explained. She pointed to the one on the right of her. "That one, to be exact."

"He looks like me," Ethan said.

"Yes, he does," Maddie said. "Your father's name was Zack Martin. That's why Martin is the last part of your last name. His twin was named Cody."

"Mom, why'd you never tell us this?" Emily asked.

"We would have understood." Ethan said.

There was silence for a moment. Then, Emily asked the question she had been dying to ask.

"Could we meet our father?"

There was another silent moment.

"I don't know where he is," Maddie answered, a little depressed.

Zack Martin was, actually, living in Boston. At that very moment, he was on a date with a girl named Alyson.

"So, you like video-games?" Zack asked.

"You've already asked me that," Alyson said, clearly annoyed.

"Um…what about wrestling?" Zack asked.

"You asked me that, too." Alyson said, even more annoyed.

"What about –" but Zack was cut off.

"What about what? Basketball, football, baseball, soccer? Clothes? What, Zack, you've asked me the same questions at least two times through each."

"Um…" Zack didn't know how to answer.

"I'm leaving," Alyson said. She walked out.

Zack paid the check and then walked to his apartment he lived in with Cody. Ever since Maddie had left, he hadn't been able to find a girl that he really liked. He still wanted Maddie, even though Maddie probably didn't want him. Maddie had probably found some hot guy that replaced Zack.

The thought of that put a shiver down Zack's spine.

Once at his apartment, he sat down at the couch and watched some wrestling.

A while later, Cody came in.

"You're depressed, aren't you?" Cody asked.

"How could you tell?" Zack asked.

"You always watch wrestling when you're depressed." Cody answered.

"I do?" Zack asked.

"What's on your mind?"

"Nothing."

Cody gave Zack _The Stare. _

"Alright, Maddie's on my mind."

"Maddie?" Cody still hadn't spilled to Zack about her having his kids. "From the Tipton?"

"How many Maddie's do we know?" Zack asked.

"Not many," Cody answered.

"I mean, whatever happened to her? Ever since she just disappeared, I haven't been able to replace her."

"Maybe you're not meant to replace her."

"But then I'll just have some empty hole inside me."

"Then maybe you need the real her."

"Maybe."

Cody thought about telling him the truth. But then he remembered the promise he had made. The one to not tell anyone about what really happened to Maddie. But it was getting really hard not to. And he was still in contact with Maddie…

"Zack, I have to tell you something," said Cody.

"Well, spill."

Cody left the room and returned with a box. He took some pictures out and gave them to Zack. There were two of the same kids, a boy and a girl, in each picture. Sometimes, there was a woman who looked vaguely familiar. But then he thought that she didn't, because he had dated most every girl in Boston. Then, it hit him.

"Those two kids…I ran into them earlier today!"

"What?" Cody was at a complete loss for words.

"They were bike riding and they almost ran into me," Zack explained. "But what do they have to do with anything?"

"Zack, look at the boy." Said Cody. Zack looked and saw someone vaguely familiar also…himself.

"That's…that's me."

"No, he just looks like you."

"And that girl has my hair and my eyes also, only her hair is longer."

"Yes."

"And that woman…that must be Maddie! Which means…that one time…I…oh, my gosh! I got her pregnant!"

Cody mentally slapped himself. He had promised Maddie to never tell Zack what had happened. Why, oh why, did he have to break that promise just now?

"Zack, I wasn't supposed to tell you this, okay?" said Cody. "That's why I kept it a secret."

Zack turned to him with a death glare. "You knew? You knew that I had my own kids out there in the world? My own DNA?"

"Zack, you were about sixteen at the time, I think! You were too young to have a kid, let alone twins!"

"Wow…they must have inherited the twin thing from me."

"I'm not sure that's something you can inherit."

Zack got up and walked to the refrigerator. He took out the carton of orange juice and drank from it.

"Ew," said Cody.

"Sorry," said Zack. "But you do owe me big time. Me, having my own kids out there, in the huge big world. And now, knowing that they just live in Boston? Wow."

"Yeah."

"I have to find them," Zack said, putting a jacket on. "Maddie sent you all these letters. You must know where she lives!"

"I don't."

"Why not?"

"She never put a return address on the mail. She could be anywhere in Boston."

Zack looked close to tears. In one day, learning that he had his own pair of twins, learning that Maddie lived somewhere in Boston, knowing that Cody had kept this secret from him since he was sixteen…

"I can't believe you!" exclaimed Zack.

"What?" asked Cody.

"You, of all people, kept this secret from me, me! Your own look-alike! I can't believe you!"

"I promised Maddie that I would never tell you!"

"Well, what now, Mr. Secretive Guy?"

"You can call her."


	4. The Phone Call

**Sorry it took so long again. I just haven't exactly been writing this. And then I was just thinking and thinking about this today…so I might post two chapters if I have time to write the second one. Enjoy!**

Maddie was at home, working hard on a report that was due at her work office on Monday. Emily and Ethan were at their part time job.

The phone rang.

Maddie sighed and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me." said the voice.

"Cody?" said Maddie.

"No, Zack," said the voice. Maddie dropped the phone. "Hello?"

"I'm still here," said Maddie, picking up the phone. "What are you calling for?"

"Well, I've been wondering, where have you been?" asked Zack. "After you stopped working at the Tipton, I was lost without you."

"I've…been busy."

"With the kids?"

Maddie gasped. "How do you know?"

"Cody told me."

"That little rat."

Zack smirked. "Just so you know, you're on speaker phone and I share an apartment with Cody."

"And I heard that!" Cody's voice yelled.

Maddie let out a faint laugh. "Sorry I wasn't around," she said.

"Its fine," said Zack. There was a moment of silence. "Listen, I want to ask you a question."

"What?"

"I want to meet my kids."

Maddie started freaking out.

"You can't meet them," she said.

"Why not? I'm their father!"

"That's why you can't! I left you out of their life for their whole lives! If you just walk right it…something could happen."

"Don't you think our kids want to know who I am?"

Tears were in Maddie's eyes. "I know they do. They've asked me."

"Then why won't you let me meet them?"

Maddie sighed. "I'm saying this in no offense to you, Zack, okay? But – they've always pictured a father in their heads. Someone like the perfect father. A good cook, a charmer – stuff like that."

"You've been away from me for too long," said Zack. "You know that I'm a charmer. That's why we…you know."

"Our kids would want to know why we broke up," said Maddie. "And we can't exactly tell them. I mean – we never even dated before we did it!"

"I know," said Zack. "That was the weird thing."

"Okay, as much as I love to hear you two actually talking again, I don't want to hear the story of how it actually happened!" said Cody.

"Then we'll stop talking about it!" said Zack. "Sorry about that."

"Hey, it's fine."

"Look…I really want to meet my twins. What are their names?"

"Emily and Ethan," said Maddie. A smile crept across her lips.

"Emily and Ethan…I told you I liked those names when I was young," said Zack thoughtfully.

"I knew you'd remember."

"Look, I know you said you don't want me to meet them. But I think I have a right. I mean, we're not legally divorced. And we were never legally married. The court hasn't exactly told me that I can't meet my own kids."

Maddie sighed. "Okay, here's the deal," said Maddie. "I'm not going to tell you where I live, because it's a mess here. But do you know where the Mexican Restaurant near here is?"

"Yeah, I love that place," said Zack.

"Meet me there tonight at eight o'clock sharp. I'll bring Emily and Ethan, and you…just come by yourself."

"Great, so I'm not invited!" said Cody's voice.

"Well, I don't exactly recall you donating any sperm!" said Zack.

"Zack, just meet me there, okay?" said Maddie.

"I'll be there."


	5. Meeting Dad

The moment Emily and Ethan came back from work, they saw Maddie putting a pair of earrings on in front of the mirror.

"Mom?" they both asked. Maddie turned around.

"Oh, hi," she said. Emily and Ethan stared at her. She had on make-up. _Make-up_! She never wore make-up unless it was a special occasion. And she never wore earrings unless it was a special occasion either. Their mother was usually pretty simple. But now, her hair was in curls at the bottom and straight at the top.

"You look…different," said Emily.

"What's going on?" asked Ethan.

"Look, just go get dressed nicely and I'll explain on the way there," said Maddie.

"Where's there?" asked Ethan.

"Just a place," said Maddie. "Now go on, get ready."

Emily and Ethan went their separate ways to their rooms. Ethan put on a pair of jeans and a nice white shirt with a design on it. Emily put on a pair of jeans as well and a pink shirt with camouflage on the sleeves. Ethan combed his hair so it was on each side, and Emily braided her hair. Emily also put on a camouflage beanie on top of her head. They both returned to Maddie just as Maddie was putting her shoes on.

"Oh, good, you're ready," said Maddie. Then, she noticed Emily's beanie. "Beanie off."

"Come on, Mom!" said Emily. "It's not exactly like we're going any place expensive. We can't afford that stuff."

"And quite frankly, it tastes a little_ too_ good," said Ethan.

"Whatever, keep the beanie on," said Maddie. "We're going to take the subway."

"Like we ever take a cab," Ethan whispered to Emily, who snickered.

Anyways, the four walked out of the front door once Emily and Ethan had put their shoes on. They took the elevator down the apartment and walked to the subway station.

"Six dollars per person for the subway?" said Maddie. "I can't afford that."

"Then get out of line," said the cashier person. "NEXT!"

Maddie rolled her eyes and took Emily and Ethan's hands. "Come on, we'll walk. It's only five blocks away."

Emily and Ethan looked at each other as Maddie released their hands.

"So…where are we going?" asked Emily.

"It's a surprise," said Maddie.

"Come on, Mom!" said Ethan. "We always tell you everything."

"Do you really?" asked Maddie. "Have you been telling me about that girl that you've been eyeing at school? Because I've heard about it from Emily."

"You rat! You said you wouldn't tell!" said Ethan.

"So what?" asked Emily. "Last month you were the one that ratted me out to Mom that I put a whoopee cushion on the teachers chair."

"I didn't do that," said Ethan.

"You did what?" asked Maddie.

"Oh, nothing," said Emily.

"That'd better be the answer," said Maddie. Emily and Ethan laughed.

They talked a little bit while they were walking when they finally reached their destination.

"Mom, this is the Mexican restaurant," said Emily.

"You had us get all dressed up just so we could eat Mexican food like we do all the time?" asked Ethan. Just then, a man walked over to them. He had blond hair that covered his eyes and freckles all over his face. He was wearing a gray shirt with jeans that were just a tiny bit too big for him. The man smiled.

"Hi, Maddie," he said.

"Hi, Zack," said Maddie.

Emily and Ethan stared at the man for a long time. The man looked at them.

"Zack Martin…" Emily and Ethan said slowly.

"That's the name of our father," Ethan said under his breath.

"I take it you two must be Emily and Ethan?" asked the man whose name was Zack. Emily and Ethan nodded soundlessly. "I'm Zack Martin, your dad."

Emily got goose bumps for reasons she knew not of. She just stared at the man. She couldn't believe it. This man, _this man_, claimed to be her father.

"Dad?" asked Emily as she looked up into the man's face.

"You're our dad?" asked Ethan.

"Well, we could always take a DNA test to make sure," Zack said. "But other than that, I'm pretty sure. Unless, of course, your mother has something she hasn't told me."

"Zack Martin!" Maddie said, playfully hitting Zack on the shoulder. "Be quiet!"

"Fine, fine," said Zack. "Anyways, I have a table for four in a private room. Come on, let's go sit down and catch up."

"What's there to catch up on?" asked Ethan. "We've never met you until now."

"Then there's your whole life I have to catch up on, sport," said Zack. "Like, maybe, cute girls at your school?"

"I can only name a dozen!" said Ethan.

"Although six of them will be the same girl," said Emily. Zack laughed.

"Come on, there's a lot I want to talk about with you two," said Zack. Emily and Ethan ran to the back of the restaurant, knowing it by heart and knowing which room Zack was talking about. Zack stayed behind with Maddie. "There's a lot I want to talk about with you, too."

"Zack, I've missed you," said Maddie, "but some things are going to stay the same."

The two walked to the room where Emily and Ethan were sitting. They were sitting across from each other, leaving an empty space between them for Zack on one side and for Maddie on the other side.

"So…what sports do you guys like?" asked Zack.

"Soccer, what else?" asked Emily.

"I'm…more of a studier," said Ethan, afraid to let down his father.

"Hey, that's cool, man," said Zack. "You're just like your Uncle Cody. That's pretty sweet. So, Emily, how long have you been playing soccer?"

"I started playing it at school with my friends," said Emily. "And then I got accepted to the school team. But I've been juggling soccer balls for as long as I can remember."

"That's awesome," said Zack. "I used to play soccer too, you know."

"Really?"

"Yeah," said Zack. "I never juggled much, but I tried, and failed. So I gave up."

"Dude, you tried and failed and that's it?" asked Emily.

"Yeah, what else is there?"

Emily bit her lip and looked at her mom. "Uh, wow, I don't know."

"I also played basketball," said Zack. "My friend Max and I would have these mini competitions with each other over who was better."

"That's what I do with my friend Jake!" said Emily. "It's usually me against him in soccer!"

"Do you have any competitions with anyone?" asked Zack. "Because Cody used to have competitions with his friends over who was smarter, and I would have to keep score."

"I do that all the time with my friend Lester!" said Ethan. "What college did you go to?"

Zack looked over at Maddie and then down at his plate. "I…didn't go to college. None would accept me."

Dinner went perfectly. They were outside and taking a walk in the park.

"And then Cody said, 'You know, if brains were money, than you'd be poor.' So I said, 'Well, if girls were money, you'd be even poorer than me.'" Said Zack. The four of them laughed. Zack and Maddie caught each others gaze for a moment and let it go. But Emily and Ethan caught it.

"Hey, Ethan, I'll race you to the end of the park," said Emily.

"Okay, on your mark, get set, GO!" said Ethan and the two were off, running.

Maddie looked into Zack's eyes. "So…what's there to talk about?"

"There's a lot to talk about," said Zack. "I have kids…two of them. They're my kids…our kids, I mean. How are we going to arrange this? They're mine as well as yours. And now that I've met them…I don't want to lose them."

"I didn't think of that," said Maddie. "But Zack – I can't just have them change their lives all because they've met their father now. And now that they've met you…they need a person to look up to."

"What does that mean?" asked Zack.

"Can you hear them, Ethe?"

"Can't hear a thing, what about you, Em?"

"Nothing."

Emily and Ethan were spying on their parents from far away.

"Can't they speak any louder?" asked Ethan.

"I bet that they're talking quietly because they can sense we're listening," said Emily.

They both sighed and sat down against the rock that they were spying over.

"I can't believe it, we actually have a dad," said Ethan.

"The whole time, he was actually alive," said Emily.

"But he's gonna leave soon," said Ethan. "What if he leaves forever?"

Emily stood up. "Then we won't let him."

"What are you talking about?"

"He's our dad! Our actual blood-related dad! And we just met him for the first time! Do you want it to be the last?"

"No," said Ethan.

"Then don't let it," said Emily. She soon smiled. "What if I said I had a plan?"

"And what if I said that I might actually go with it?" said Ethan.

"Let's get Mom and Dad back together," said Emily.

"Em, that's like totally Parent Trap!" said Ethan.

"Exactly! Come on, Ethan, they can't keep us away from him forever! He's our dad!"

Ethan smiled and shook his head. "This is crazy."

"Come on, Ethe, please?" asked Emily. "I know you want to be with Dad as much as I do."

Ethan looked down, then up at Emily, who was happy to see that he was smiling broadly. "I'm in."


	6. First Part of the Plan

The next morning, Emily and Ethan took their bikes out.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" Maddie asked just as they were about to reach the door.

Emily and Ethan stopped in their tracks. "Crap," the two muttered under their breath, luckily unheard by Maddie.

"We were just putting our bikes here," said Emily. "I was just going to grab my soccer ball and go to the park to teach Ethan how to play." Ethan nodded. If the two excelled in anything, it was lying.

"Okay," said Maddie. "Just be back before noon."

It was then that Ethan remembered what he was supposed to say. "Hey, Mom?" he said. "Dad called us this morning while you were at the market. He wants to get together for dinner again tonight because he had so much fun."

Maddie dropped the dish she was cleaning, which fell to the floor and spiraled. Luckily it was a plastic plate. "W-what?" she asked.

"Yeah, he said he and Cody want to come over here, to see how we live," said Ethan. "Em and I are going to show them our rooms!"

"Oh-okay," said Maddie, picking up the plate and cleaning it again.

"Bye Mom!" Emily and Ethan chorused as they left. Once outside of the apartments, Emily and Ethan high-fived.

"That was almost too easy," said Emily.

"Yeah," said Ethan. "You have it?"

Emily held up a piece of paper that had their Dad's address scribbled on it. "Right here."

The two biked over to another set of apartments, which turned out to be seven miles away. The two were beat by the time they got there.

"What apartment number is it again?" asked Ethan, chaining their bikes to the bike racks.

"Uh…248," said Emily.

The two entered the apartment building. Just as they were heading to the elevators, a man stopped them. His hair was brown, his cheekbones were high, and his shirt was sweaty.

"May I help you two?" he asked.

"Uh…we were just visiting a friend," said Ethan.

"I find that hard to believe," said the man. Emily noticed a pin on him that said Mr. Jeffery.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" asked Emily.

"No kids live in this apartment building," said the man. "You two are thieves who are trying to sneak in and rob us!"

"What?"

"No we're not!"

"We're not even thirteen!"

"We don't even get paid minimum wage!"

The man grabbed the two by the ears. "You two are coming with me."

E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3

Zack was lying on the couch, watching wrestling between two men he had never seen or heard of.

"Yeah, uppercut…UPPERCUT!" said Zack. Soon, there was a knock on the door. "CODY, DOOR!"

"I'M IN THE SHOWER, YOU GET IT!" said Cody.

"Fine, fine, fine," said Zack. "Man, I wish we had Tivo." He walked to the door, opened it, and saw Mr. Jeffery holding his kids by the ears.

"Mr. Martin," said Mr. Jeffery. Zack almost grinned at seeing him. He reminded him a bit of Mr. Moseby. "I found these two kids in the entrance hall." Zack loved it how he said 'entrance hall' instead of 'lobby', which it was. "They claim to be your children."

Zack nodded his head. Mr. Jeffery let go of their ears and left. Zack looked at his two kids. "Well…what are you doing here?" he asked.

"What, can't kids come to see their Dad?" asked Emily. She and Ethan walked in, Zack closing the door behind them.

"Actually, we—" Ethan stopped in mid-sentence. A man who looked exactly like Zack except a bit different, walked out of a bedroom with only a towel around his waist.

"Hey, Zack, who was at the door?" it was only a second after he said that that he noticed Emily and Ethan. He looked down at his towel and ran for the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

"Wow…disturbing," said Emily.

"Yeah, that's Cody," said Zack. "If you're wondering why he's so pale it's because he doesn't go in the sun much."

"I GO IN IT ENOUGH, THANK YOU!"

"Anyways," said Emily, trying to get the picture out of her head, "our mom was wondering if you would like to come over for dinner. She wants you to see the apartment."

"She does?" asked Zack.

"Yeah, and she wants Cody to come to," said Emily.

"Why?" asked Zack. "He's an anti-social nerd."

"I HANG OUT WITH YOU, DON'T I?"

Emily and Ethan glanced at each other. Talking to Zack was like talking to someone from school. He was cool and he didn't care much.

"Well, just be by at seven, 'kay?" said Ethan.

"M'kay," said Zack. Emily and Ethan started to head towards the door. "Wait? So you're just leaving? Like that?"

"We have to be back soon," said Ethan.

"Don't you want to meet Cody?"

"You mean the anti-social nerd?" asked Emily. Just then, Cody walked out.

"I can see how they're your kids," he said.

"Should we take that as a compliment?" asked Emily. Zack and Cody looked at Emily and took in her appearance. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was in two braids. Only the bottom of the braids were showing because she was wearing a gray and black striped beanie on top. She was wearing dark blue skinny jeans and a white shirt with a black guitar on it.

"Sure, if you think that being unsuccessful is a good thing," said Cody as he sat down.

"You know that we're your niece and nephew, right?" said Ethan. "And we're not unsuccessful. We have a job."

"You're twelve."

"Henceforth we don't exactly get paid minimum wage."

"Who says 'henceforth'?" asked Zack.

"Your son," said Ethan. "Oh, wait, that's me, isn't it?"

"You're Ethan, huh?" said Cody. "Maddie's told me about you. You're the mathlete, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I'm the smart twin," said Ethan.

"Well, I'm not dumb," said Emily. "I just think that there are other things that are more important. Like sports."

Zack smiled proudly as he turned to Cody. "Emily here is an excellent soccer player. Takes off of me."

Ethan nudged Emily and showed her his watch. "We've really got to go," said Emily. "Nice seeing you…Dad. Nice meeting you…"

"Just call me Cody," said Cody. "I didn't exactly plan on being an uncle this early."

"Forgive me for being in love," said Zack.

"Bye," said Emily and Ethan in unison as they walked out of the apartment.

"Wow," said Emily. "That felt weird."

"What? You mean seeing Cody in that towel? That made me feel awkward too."

"No, I mean…calling him…Dad," said Emily. "Think about it. We haven't had a dad our whole lives and now, all of a sudden, this guy shows up. Mom says that he's our dad. And now we have an Uncle Cody?"

"Just focus on the plan," said Ethan.


End file.
